This is not one of those, "I’ve done an IRONMAN" look at me stories, I promise.

Let me set the scene for you. It’s 0500 on Sunday the 22nd of May and the alarm kicks me into action. Time to eat and put on my meticulously laid out triathlon kit. The problem is that I’ve just had a brilliant dream where I’d already completed the swim, bike and run of the Marbella 70.3 IRONMAN.

The realisation washes over me of the enormity of what is in front of me as I check the weather forecast. Highs of 29 degrees Celsius are predicted. Crap I’ve still got to do this and it’s going to be hot!

Let’s rewind a bit. When we founded West Peak, we committed to some values and one of these is ‘Challenge normal’. We aim to always challenge the way things have been done before when developing business leaders. After all, what has worked before and has got you here, won’t necessarily get you to where you want your business to be in the future. So, to embrace this every year we pick some team events or challenges that will challenge our normal. Today is my day to face some fears.

I have had a mental block about open water swimming for a long time. Don’t get me wrong, a splash in the sea is great, but this long-distance swim of just under 2km out at sea has filled me with apprehension and dread for months now. I have had thoughts of drowning etc. on many occasions.

0530 we eat our pre-race meal and drink some life-giving coffee together as a team whilst exchanging some small chat to mask the nerves. My butterflies are growing, I glance at my heart rate on my Garmin watch, 130 bpm! "Got to get that down Ben, breathe slow."

We walk to the start area and if you haven’t been to an IRONMAN set-up, it’s something to behold. Over 1300 nervous amateurs stand shoulder to shoulder next to the Pros in a fenced-off pen purposefully checking all their kit just in case a black hole had emerged in their kit bag in the short walk from their accommodation to the transition area. Then we check our bikes. Is the tyre pressure right for the rising temperatures? Will I run past my bike in the daze of coming out of the sea swim?

"Everything is fine Ben, breathe slow."

0730 and with wetsuits on we walk like baby penguins about to take their first swim into pens corresponding to our predicted swim times and this is where I need to confess something. I’m vastly underprepared. I haven’t swum 2 km before. I haven’t swum more than 500 m in the sea this year. I hate swimming......no swimming hates me!

As we get released from our pen and we run in groups of 5 down the beach and into the sea, I pretty much go with the flow and before I know it, we’re into the waves. There are swimming caps, legs, elbows, and arms everywhere. I can see the first red marker buoy that’s the size of a car in front of me about 150 m from the shore. As we get closer, I can see a fellow swimmer holding onto it for dear life and waving at the support boats. I panic big time, and this is the conversation I had with myself whilst still swimming.

"How the hell am I going to do this, I’m shattered already?"

"I can’t do this."

"That support boat looks inviting."

"I need to get out of here."

I dive under the water to take another stroke and catch a glance of my right hand which has the letters S.A.M. written on the back of it. This jolts me into action. Earlier over breakfast, I wrote the first letters of my loved ones, my family, and my why on my hand with a Sharpie. This visual and emotional trigger was enough.

"Come on Ben, get past this buoy and then let’s just take it one at a time, you have been in this mental game before."

So, we turn around the red marker buoy and head to the next one and then the next and so on. I count every single stroke it takes me to get to each of the 18 markers. Time ticked by and market by marker it got easier.

"Imagine if you can do this Ben?"

"I’m going to do this."

As I swim through the surf and land on the beach, I feel drained but full of pride I’ve done it! I’ve done the swim. Yes!

I hobble into the transition area full of adrenaline. Helmet on, get some food on board, grab my bike and I’m away into the hills behind Marbella. The bike ride is classified as ‘hilly’, well with over 1500 m of climbing I can testify it is ‘hilly’! The bike is my strength and I make up places. I’m still riding the high of conquering my mental block of distance seas swimming after all.

The ride is tough but enjoyably tough I love the pain cave on the bike, grinding away on the uphills to earn the downhills. The reward is a 15 km descent at the end of the 92 km ride and the opportunity to reach speeds of around 70km/h on a closed and perfectly surfaced road is epic. I catch myself laughing and shouting ‘Wahoo’ multiple times on the way down back to the coast and the transition area.

"Swim done, bike done, just a half marathon to go and I love running. Let’s go!"

As I head out onto the run course that is along the seafront, two things happen very quickly that put me in a hole. The first is that I’m running too fast and the second is I realise I’ve gone too hard earlier in the race.

I haven’t trained enough for this race, and I have just overcome Pneumonia (4 weeks ago) and so the adrenaline rush, coupled with the fight or flight response triggered in the swim has taken its toll on my reserves. I’d then got way too excited on the bike and emptied the reserves. My heart rate reads 192 bpm! Oh no.

I stop and walk after just 3 Km, I’m destroyed. I go through the change curve again.

"I can’t do this."

"Why is it so hot?"

"Walking a half marathon is going to suck."

"Will I even make the time cut off?"

This carries on for 2 more kms. I get passed by someone who looks like they’re going really slow, but at least they are running. My internal voice kicks in.

"Ben get on that guy’s tail and stick with him, now!"

Lewis kept me going and we end up shuffling 8 km together and I’m cooked! I say thanks to him and wish him luck and I’m back to walking. I’m just over halfway and have to run past the finish line and on to my second lap whilst other racers are finishing with smiles and laughs. Emotionally this is a tough blow.

It’s at this point my internal conversation kicks back in. I’m not sure where this voice comes from, but I seem to rely on it a lot. I create a game for myself on the run course, I say game it’s more of a deal between my internal voice and my body.

"Ben when you get to that lamppost, you’ve got to run to that bench that’s about 250m away. Then you can walk again for a bit until your heart rate falls below 150 bpm, but then we’re going to repeat this negotiation."

I play this game for over an hour and a half. It works. I’m reeling in people that have blown up and look like I feel. The distance is ticking by, and my average pace is much better. Then I meet Maria, she is half walking and half hobbling as I approach her 4 km out from the finish line.

"Are you ok?" I ask.

"Yes, just very tired." She replies.

"Shall we finish this together?" I ask.

She smiles at me and we high five. The power of suffering with someone else motivates us and we up our pace and finish the run well. As we turn the last corner the finish line is in sight and the euphoria kicks in. We cross the line and the other Westpeakers greet me with open arms. I’m done, I’m happy and peaceful. I conquered some demons, learnt a lot about myself and we sit down to plan what our next challenge should be. It’s amazing how quickly you forget the pain when you finish.

So, why do I think this story from the weekend is relevant to you?

1. Every day we face change, the change curve is real for you and the people in your business. By learning about it we can harness the power of knowledge and manage the change. So can every person in your team. Educate all your people on the change curve as soon as possible. They will thank you for it.

2.????A wise person once said you can only eat an elephant one bite at a time. This weekend I was faced with the biggest elephant I’ve faced to date and that approach helped me enormously. Chunk the challenge you face and control the controllables.

3.????Forward movement in the right direction is the key to achieving our goals. You’ve got to show up and do the work consistently. Discipline is more important than motivation.

4.????You can go fast on your own, but you can go further together. Maria and Lewis were my running amigos as Maria said to me and we were certainly stronger together. In a team alignment to a common goal and care for each other is key.

5.????Plan a challenge or face a fear regularly. I truly believe it galvanises you. It builds mental resilience and most of all it gives you a creative, emotional, and physical outlet. It really doesn’t have to be an IRONMAN. It must be right for you.

Thanks for reading my thought download and if you’d like to learn more about us at West Peak and how we develop leaders and teams please get in touch with me for a conversation. I promise no IRONMAN chat, just a conversation about how you can help your team achieve more than they realised was possible.

Ben